Gymnastics has year for the record books

For the Penn gymnastics team, 1994 has been a year of special moments. Led by senior co-captains Mona Nedjar and Mary Pedersen, the Quakers rebounded from several injury-racked years to have their best season ever. "We were very talented this year," Nedjar said. "We stayed very healthy and had the full lineup in almost every meet. It seemed like we broke some kind of record at every meet, if not more than one. We were very consistent." At the start of the year, coach Tom Kovic wanted the Quakers to make it through the year healthy. The team wanted to win the Ivy championship back from Yale, and possibly qualify for the ECAC regionals. Anything else, the Quakers thought, would have been asking too much. "This has been a physically and emotionally tough year to get through," Kovic said. "My desire was for my team to have a healthy season, then everything else would fall into place. This is the first time in three years we've been able to stay healthy and focused throughout the season." The Quakers far surpassed their own expectations. They overturned the Penn record books, breaking every record except uneven bars several times over, and set a new team scoring high five times. "I wanted the team to set their own goals," Kovic said. "As the season progressed, they did just that. They were setting short-range goals by the week, and they met all the goals they set out for themselves." Rebounding from an early-season loss to Yale in New Haven, the Quakers beat the Elis in what team members called "the showdown on neutral ground," the Ivy Championships at Brown. The Quakers dominated at Ivies, winning every individual event, as well as the team competition. "It was especially rewarding to go out my last season and win Ivies, after losing last year," Nedjar said. "It was a challenge and a fight, but the team competed so intensely." And the Ivy championship was not the final victory for Penn this season. The Quakers finished fifth in the ECAC division and secured a place in the championship for the first time in history. "This shows future team members and competitors that we are a force to be reckoned with," Nedjar said. "In the future, there will be a lot more noise coming from this team. We'll be progressing nationally over the years. People should be a bit fearful of us." Kovic and Pedersen also won individual honors this season, in recognition of their consistent performances. Kovic was named ECAC Coach of the Year. Pedersen received the Northeast region's senior athlete of the year award. No Ivy athlete has ever received this title before. She also competed in the NCAA regionals alone, finishing sixth. The Quakers missed this prestigious meet by less than one point. "This is the best season we've had since we've been here," Nedjar said. "Mary's performance throughout the season was unbelievable. She is an outstanding gymnast, and a great team leader and competitor. Personally, I don't think I could have had a better season, or accomplished anything else." "This sets the program on a new level," Kovic said. "We can't look to the past any more. This season will be a springboard for future teams." But Penn will be losing three seniors this season. Besides Pedersen and Nedjar, Lynn Aronica will also be graduating. The loss of these three athletes will be tough for the team to overcome. "This year's seniors are a special group," Kovic said. "They've put four years of effort into this program, and they will leave a large void that needs to be filled. But we have a strong junior class to step up, and next year the freshmen will be more mature sophomores." According to the Quakers, despite their success, there is always more to be done. "I am very proud of what the team accomplished this year," Kovic said. "Pennsylvania gymnastics has gained attention throughout the region. The program has greater recognition now than it ever has. What we as a team, and gymnastics in general, need now is more support in the Ivy League." There are only four varsity gymnastics teams in the Ivy League. Two of those, Brown and Cornell, have had to go to court in order to keep their programs alive. The Quakers hope their excellent performance has gained recognition for Ivy gymnastics. "The sport of gymnastics is one the Ivy League will benefit from," Kovic said. "The Yale team performed neck-and-neck with us throughout the year. Cornell and Brown have been improving. Dartmouth has a program, but not a full team. We hope these four teams thrive and get stronger." "We pulled together and went farther than we would've expected," freshman Dawn Landua said. "We worked really well together and supported each other. I think the team will just get better and better, building on what has come before." The Quakers carry their memories with them into the offseason. Next year, they hope to surpass them.